Russell S. Kokubun (born 1948) is a Democratic politician who became a member and Vice President of the

Hawaii Senate The Hawaii Senate is the upper house of the Hawaii State Legislature. It consists of twenty-five members elected from an equal number of constituent districts across the islands and is led by the President of the Senate, elected from the membe ...

Life

Kokubun was born May 15, 1948, in

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

. He graduated from

Punahou School Punahou School (known as Oahu College until 1934) is a private, co-educational, college preparatory school in Honolulu, Hawaii. More than 3,700 students attend the school from kindergarten through twelfth grade, 12th grade. Protestant missionar ...

in 1966, and

Southern Methodist University , mottoeng = "The truth will make you free" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = SACS , academic_affiliations = , religious_affiliation = United Methodist Church , president = R. Gerald Turner , prov ...

in 1971. During the 1970s he worked on various agricultural ventures on the

island of Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii ) is the largest island in the United States, located in the state of Hawaii. It is the southeasternmost of the Hawaiian Islands, a chain of volcanic islands in the North Pacific Ocean. With an area of , it has 63% of th ...

(Big Island). From 1984 through 1988 he served on the council of

Hawaii County Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

and was its chair. In 1992 he ran for

Mayor of Hawaii County The Mayor of Hawaii is the chief executive officer of the County of Hawaii in the state of Hawaii. The mayor has municipal jurisdiction over the Big Island of Hawaii. The current mayor is Mitch Roth.Stephen K. Yamashiro Stephen Kei Yamashiro (July 15, 1941 – May 24, 2011) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the former Mayor of Hawaii, Mayor of Hawaii County, Hawaii, Hawaii County from 1992 to 2000. Yamashiro served on the Hawaii County council ...

. From 1995 to 1997 he was Yamashiro's executive assistant, and then deputy planning director of the county.

Senate career

Kokubun was initially appointed to represent Hawaii's 3rd Senatorial District in 2000, and was subsequently elected to represent the 2nd Senatorial District in 2002 and again in 2004, 2006, and 2008. The second district includes portions of South Hilo District (portion of Waiakea Uka);

Puna District Puna is one of the 9 districts of Hawaii County on the Island of Hawaii (Big Island; County of Hawaii). It is located on the windward side (east side) of the island and shares borders with South Hilo district in the north and Kaū district i ...

(Keeau, Kurtistown, Mountain View, Glenwood, Pahoa, Hawaiian Acres, Orchid Land Estates, Hawaiian Paradise Park, Pohoiki, Opihikao, Kehena, Kaimū, Kalapana, Volcano); and Kaʻū District ( Pāhala, Punaluu, Ninole, Honuapo, Naalehu, Kahuku) on the island of Hawaii. In 2007 he was a member of the Joint Senate–House Investigative Committee on the Bureau of Conveyances. As of the 2009 Legislative Session, Kokubun was a member of the Senate committees on Energy and Environment; Higher Education; Water, Land, Agriculture, and Hawaiian Affairs; and Ways and Means.

References

External links

Hawai‘i 2050 Sustainability Task Force
''Message from the Chair'' *''Follow the Money'' – Russell Kokubun
200620042002
campaign contributions {{DEFAULTSORT:Kokubun, Russell S. 1948 births Living people Hawaii County Council members Hawaii politicians of Japanese descent Hawaii state senators People from Hawaii (island) Politicians from Honolulu Punahou School alumni Asian American and Pacific Islander state legislators in Hawaii